[Ziggy]

Hi
I'm bit concerned about making ends meet due to the lower wages has anyone else had a problem? how do household bills compare to the UK I thought it was all relative, but I've just done an online grocery shop (I know I'm sad) and comapred to the identical list I bought this morning Tesco is cheaper. I'm starting to panic
Julia
:(

[incredible hulse]

Groceries - used to spend between 300-400 pounds a month; in NZ on average spend 1000-1200 a month. This is also with cutting back on 'treats'

[dusk]

i think most people advise avoiding buying ready meals/pre-packaged stuff and some imported goods (which can be expensive although coke and fajita kits seem not to be when i checked *grin*) also buying 'special offers' and definitey buying fresh stuff in season saves money - but i did a similar comparison on that basis and it didn't look too bad compared to my normal tesco shop

[nickydwuk]

I did a sample shop online and it came out to be about $250. As a % of our income it proved to be about the same as here in the UK - but I think I did miss some items as they weren't listed.

[incredible hulse]

i think most people advise avoiding buying ready meals/pre-packaged stuff and some imported goods (which can be expensive although coke and fajita kits seem not to be when i checked *grin*) also buying 'special offers' and definitey buying fresh stuff in season saves money - but i did a similar comparison on that basis and it didn't look too bad compared to my normal tesco shop

Definitely true. The figures I quoted do not include ready meals, we don't drink coke or similar, and we buy on-deals and in season. They are just figures on an average of 2 years here. We do drink a hell a lot of milk and for example 2 litres is about 4.50 here - don't know what it is in the UK now but it used to be around the 1.10 mark when we left :confused:

[Familyofmonkeys]

Hi
I'm bit concerned about making ends meet due to the lower wages has anyone else had a problem? how do household bills compare to the UK I thought it was all relative, but I've just done an online grocery shop (I know I'm sad) and comapred to the identical list I bought this morning Tesco is cheaper. I'm starting to panic
Julia
:(

The problem you will have here is that in NZ the price of goods varies considerbly (compared to UK) partly duer to import costs/geogrphical location. If you are one of those people who buys pretty much the same thing every week you could find groceries in NZ very expensive. If you do what alot seem to do here (if not initially) and buy things that are in season and on special offer/bulk buy then you will find prices are comparable to UK. Bear in mind that if you do a comparison shop on-line it is summer here and winter in UK so different things will be in season. Also processedfreezer foods can be alot more expensive here unless on special offer.

Here are some related threads that are worth a read:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15705

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14276

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=15678

[pieeater]

I went to do the weekly shop yesterday as Mrs.Pieeater is on Nights.I went to Pack and Save the Mad Butcher and then Countdown in an attempt to spend as little as possible and also a lot of the things we needed were sold out in P&S.I spent $350 in total.This is about average for the weekly shop.We will need to buy or make bread and get more milk through the week.Probably another $20 or so.There were 2x cheap $9 bottles of wine and a dozen beers included in this.We are 2 adults and two teens and we cook all our meals from scratch buy only seasonal produce and take full advantage of special offers.We also grow veggies.And my wife often brings home Corn Cobs,Avocado's and Kiwifruit from her friends at work who have Orchards.I went back to the U.K. for 3 months on the run up to xmas and spent a bit of time checking out the prices of food.For the things WE eat and the way WE live our weekly food bill would be less in the U.K.no doubt.If you add into that the lower wages we both get here it begins to look more expensive.This isn't a whinge by the way I'm, just stating the facts.

[Familyofmonkeys]

For the things WE eat and the way WE live our weekly food bill would be less in the U.K.no doubt.

Exactly...it will depend greatly on how/what you eat. We currently spend anything from $180 to $230 per week for family of 5 including 2 kids in nappies. On occasion when we have more treat foods it can be more like $250 per week. In UK we used to spend from £70 to £100 per week.

[incredible hulse]

Exactly...it will depend greatly on how/what you eat. We currently spend anything from $180 to $230 per week for family of 5 including 2 kids in nappies. On occasion when we have more treat foods it can be more like $250 per week. In UK we used to spend from £70 to £100 per week.

Similar figures to us in terms of ratios. Unfortunately my NZ salary isn't 2.5 times my UK package and that's why for me in real terms NZ housebills are more expensive

[pieeater]

More costs.Electricity.in a recent survey most people were in the $100 to $200 per month bracket.We live in the Winterless North and we average about $140 per month for the year.We save because we don't have to buy firewood as we have 150 pine trees on our property that I chop up and burn.I did have to buy a chainsaw at $1000 dollars to facilitate this though.We also have a wetback on the woodburner and that heats the hot water in winter.We have a Bottled Gas Cooktop which is really economical at about $60 p.a.Don't know about water rates as we catch our own.We change the water filter twice a year though these are $45 each.Rates are about $900 a year for our rural 8 acre property 30 mins drive from town.Which is a BIG saving on the U.K. however no streetlights binmen or even Tarmac here.Most Lifestylers out here us included rear a few cattle to eat or sell them off to cover rates etc.Septic Tank emptying $500 or so every 3 years.Phone and unlimited dial up internet $80 per month.Sky T.V. inc sports as I'm a Rugby League fan and we can't get a decent signal out here anyhow costs around $60 a month.

[missy+mrmagoo]

My wifes an absolute shopping genius!!
She has done the shopping for all of us (2 adults 4 kids) for the week on less than $150!!

[pieeater]

Wow she's a star.Hope your'e taking advatage of those cheap Kumaras over there.They're lovely baked in the oven with a knob of butter on.

[LesleyS]

We're still new here - 5 months, but oh boy have I had learn how to budget like mad when it comes to food shopping! It has been a bit of a shock to the system to be honest.
In order to stay on track financially I now:

Cook everything from scratch

Plan ahead as much as possible

Always look for what's on offer rather than what I fancy

Compare prices between stores for the same goods

Never buy processed or frozen foods apart from a little ice cream and a few tins for casseroles and stews

Bulk buy items that are regular staples when on offer

Always on the lookout for 'farm produce' like Avos and other fruit and veg on the roadside.

Never buy cakes biscuits or chocoate much.

Have one take away treat once a week maybe.

It's not neccessarily the 'food' items that push up the bill either at the Supermarket - cleaning products, soap powder, toiletries - all seem to be more expensive here - and before anyone says it, I have tried all the budget brands of the products we use, and most of them are hopeless so false economy sometimes!

It certainly makes you look at your spending habits - both past and present.

[Ziggy]

Mr pieeater things are looking rosier now I know I can watch the Rhinos on Sky. Going back to bills though we may have to cut back, at present I only have a monthly food budget of £250 a month which I manage quite well buying special offers, fresh food etc we live on a small farm so grow a lot of our own veg & salad already. You must have a big septic tank we have to empty ours every 6 months & there is only 4 of us!
X

[Tia Maria]

Its good you've compared the weekly shop using an NZ online shopping site and yes you are right, many people have to change their spending habits. Some, like me, are still a bit grumpy about it, others have embraced it and find it no problem at all and wonder how they every managed to spend so much in the UK!

Check out this thread for great tips on budgeting all things, not just food:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10799

But clever shopping is the way. For me the best example is the 'Nutella example'.

The Nutella Example

Normally a 750g jar of Nuttella is $7.49
So we decided to try the Generic Brand and the kids liked it. :)
So, Signature Range Hazelnut Spread (750g) is $5.79
As its a cupboard item we only ever buy it when its on special and stock up on a few jars.
So, Signature Range Hazelnut Spread on special is: $4.69

In total a saving of $7.49 - $4.69 = $2.80 - about a 35% saving.

I manage to do this sort of thing with a lot of my shop and have managed to shave my weekly shop down, on average, from $250 to $200, so 20% less (2 adults, 3 children). I could probably do more, but I'm not a very good cook so we have a few ready prepared items and a few other treats :) . It took a bit more initial effort but I don't feel we're denied anything, which is the important thing for me.

Another way you could prepare is to stock up before you go, buy lots of things like toiletries and nappies (if you have a baby!) when they are on offer in the UK, to ship over. We've still got some of our Boots 2 for 1 items hanging around 2 years later! This will give you 6 months to ease into a full shopping bill.

Also buy things like Muffin trays and cooking equipment. As I've said I'm not a very good cook but even I'll bake some muffins (using a mix! :D ). Ready Made Chocolate muffins - $3.70 for 6, homebaked with mix - $2 for 8.

So for many the higher cost of living is worth the trade off for the chance to live in NZ, for others it isn't.

Cheers

Tia

[missy+mrmagoo]

Wow she's a star.Hope your'e taking advatage of those cheap Kumaras over there.They're lovely baked in the oven with a knob of butter on.

She is :clap

We always give thanks to the King Kumaras as we pass the Kumara Box for their tasty subjects.:nice1

You must be over on the east coast with sky high council rates of $900.
We pay less than $600 on our 6 acre place.:D (a bit better than the £1400 on our shoe box in London)

[LesleyS]

My wifes an absolute shopping genius!!
She has done the shopping for all of us (2 adults 4 kids) for the week on less than $150!!

Could she give us a breakdown of that in terms of types of food and neccessary non foods - cos that's pretty amazing for 7 days for 6 people :clap

[missy+mrmagoo]

She buys the biggest packs of meat she can which we then spread out over more than 1 day(Allways look out for the butchers discount ones). We eat alot of rice and pasta which you can buy cheap in big bags. The road side honesty boxes provide loads of cheap veg (don't worry we do pay).
As for non-foods we tend to buy bulk when on special so alot of the time there's not much that we need!

[incredible hulse]

(a bit better than the £1400 on our shoe box in London)

Aren't shoeboxes made of cardboard :exit

[Familyofmonkeys]

We eat alot of rice and pasta which you can buy cheap in big bags. As for non-foods we tend to buy bulk when on special so alot of the time there's not much that we need!

We also do the same. We buy 5kg bags of rice and also pasta (when we can find bigger bags). Some of the small asian supermarkets around Auckland have great deals of rice etc as long as you are prepared to buy imported brands rather than the well known ones mostly available in the supermarkets. We buy 5kg bags of flour for making bread/baking. Also I worked out last week that if you buy the 7kg bags of sugar (in New World) it is FAR more economical than buying the standard 1.5kg bags in the supermarkets. Need to get more large storage tubs as will be doing this when we need to get more.

Another thing that has really helped keep our bill down is the laundry liquid we use (i am allergic to powder). We use the Ecostore stuff. For a start they almost always have offers for $1 off every month or so. Also the bottle says aprox 60 washes per bottle. We have found this stuff is SO good you only need a tiny amount or you get a machine full of bubbles. Worked out I get more like 100 washes per bottle (no joke). This works out far cheaper than the persil non-bio we used to buy. Plus I feel a bit better about using an eco-friendly product.

And we try and buy refills for things as often as possible e.g. johnsons baby bath, liquid hand soap, cling film, baking paper etc. Really keeps the costs down.

[Pugwash]

Hi,

when we first arrived in NZ (5 years ago) I estimate that the cost of living was about 2/3 of that in the UK. Now, I would estimate that it is about the same, possibly a bit more.

Some things are still a little cheaper, some the same and some dearer. Of course it all depends on the exchange rate!

But you must 'weigh' all of that up against the other benefits of being here :-)

Pugwash